Longitudinal associations between teacher-student relationships and school engagement in early elementary school years: Gender differences

Declining trends in teacher-student relationships and school engagement as students age have been widely documented in the literature. This study used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 (ECLS-K:2011) dataset and a multigroup random-intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) to examine the developmental trends of reciprocal associations between teacher-student relationships (i.e. closeness and conflict) and school engagement, with a focus on gender differences from kindergarten through grade 3. The study identified both similarities and differences in gender at the between-person and within-person levels. Notably, a significant gender difference emerged at the within-person level: negative reciprocal associations between conflict and school engagement were observed only in boys over time. The findings have implications for research methodology and classroom management practices.